Clovember: Corporate Casual with whimsical purple and polka dots
Oh, Clovember, you're so quiet this year. In times past you were abuzz with outfits and commentary from ten or twelve people! Still, I shall keep flying the Clovember flag. I'm not in any way posting the actual outfit I wore on the day of posting, of course, but for whatever reason I feel like getting into the spirit of things suddenly, whether or not anyone else much is going to join me.
Today was way too cold for this outfit: I wore it last Monday, when it was much warmer, with black blazer over it in the morning. Usually I gravitate towards trousers or pencil skirts for Corporate Casual, as these give more of a "suit" feel (I can only bring myself to wear tailored trousers for office wear), but that morning I cast out the pencil in favour of the FLARE (or FLAIR, perhaps. I cringe inside when people talk about how they like wearing flairs...). And a flared skirt in purple teamed with a polka dot cowl-neck top, no less. To be honest, the colours of this outfit are a little more sombre that I normally like during the daytime (black is my preferred basic, but to my eye it needs perking up with something lighter and/or brighter), but I did feel it was a more cheery and playful take on the ol' dress code.
See? Whimsical, yet still dressed up and modest enough to be work-appropriate, especially with a tailored black blazer to chuck over the top if more formality and dignity is called for. It would look better with pumps rather than Mary Janes, but I struggle with slip-on shoes. My feet are different enough in size that one of the shoes will inevitably slip off continually or be crushed at the toes. These are my compromise corporate shoes, which have a nice retro kind of look. The belt came with a long-discarded dress, and is *fearfully* useful in its plain blackness. Most elastic belts have really over the top buckles which tend to look tacky or detract from what you're wearing with it. Alas, it's made from cheap vinyl and is fast disintegrating. Hopefully the internet will provide a replacement.
Today was way too cold for this outfit: I wore it last Monday, when it was much warmer, with black blazer over it in the morning. Usually I gravitate towards trousers or pencil skirts for Corporate Casual, as these give more of a "suit" feel (I can only bring myself to wear tailored trousers for office wear), but that morning I cast out the pencil in favour of the FLARE (or FLAIR, perhaps. I cringe inside when people talk about how they like wearing flairs...). And a flared skirt in purple teamed with a polka dot cowl-neck top, no less. To be honest, the colours of this outfit are a little more sombre that I normally like during the daytime (black is my preferred basic, but to my eye it needs perking up with something lighter and/or brighter), but I did feel it was a more cheery and playful take on the ol' dress code.
See? Whimsical, yet still dressed up and modest enough to be work-appropriate, especially with a tailored black blazer to chuck over the top if more formality and dignity is called for. It would look better with pumps rather than Mary Janes, but I struggle with slip-on shoes. My feet are different enough in size that one of the shoes will inevitably slip off continually or be crushed at the toes. These are my compromise corporate shoes, which have a nice retro kind of look. The belt came with a long-discarded dress, and is *fearfully* useful in its plain blackness. Most elastic belts have really over the top buckles which tend to look tacky or detract from what you're wearing with it. Alas, it's made from cheap vinyl and is fast disintegrating. Hopefully the internet will provide a replacement.